It’s not about keeping up

Two weeks ago my head space was fixed firmly in what can only be described as a work-induced trance. If you don’t know what that is, it went a little something like this:

Weekends. What are those?

You need it by when? Tomorrow?!

They’re coming this Saturday? I thought it was next?

and so on..

One night last week, while burning the midnight oil and watching my ‘to-do’ list grow higher and higher I began to feel guilty. Guilty because I was feeling like I ‘couldn’t keep up’.

This would have really bothered me had it not been for one major life lesson that I learnt the hard way this year, that life is beyond mine (or anyone’s) control.

Yes, you can fight it, and feel guilty about everything that you couldn’t do within that moment or you can focus all of your energy into doing an amazing job of the task at hand and forgive what you can’t control.

So:

If you are meant to catch up with friends but need to reschedule at the last minute, they will understand.

If you have to leave a get-together early, the get-together won’t stop because you left (and you thought you were the life of the party, right?).

If you need another day to complete something properly, take it!

If you can’t do it all, don’t try to or at least, don’t do it all alone.

How do I know that all the above works? Because I’ve had to apply every single one of these things to help me move through the last two weeks. Shuffling schedules, changing plans, having my husband entertain my guests without me (ah yes, that happened!)…

Life gets busy, frantic and flustered sometimes but the worst thing you can do is say yes to everything only to spread yourself too thin.

Just do one thing (or a couple of things) and do them really well.

Eventually, the craziness will subside enough for you to be able to direct that energy toward something else, but as for trying to keep up. There really is no such thing.

“Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind, the race is long and in the end it’s only with yourself” – Baz Luhrmann

P.S I am now out of my work-induced trance. Hello friends, it’s good to be back 🙂